by Ammar Habib
“Somewhere you need to be?”
“I need to stop by the bank.”
***
Katrina’s eyes stayed fixated on the framed picture of Ethan. She held it with both hands only a few inches away from her face. The photograph of Ethan was taken the last time she had seen him, just days before the fateful night that his father was killed and she learned the truth.
As she held the picture, she could remember the feeling as she stood on the icy bridge with him two years ago. It felt like a lifetime. But even now, she could feel his love by just looking at his picture.
She turned around, headed toward the large window of her office, and stared in the direction of Crown City. The clouds were dark and blocked almost all sunlight, the heavens threatening to send its icy downpour. Maybe, just maybe, he was looking at her right then. Maybe he was dreaming of the next time he would see her.
A knock on the door suddenly caused Katrina’s thoughts to scatter.
The door opened and a familiar face quickly walked in, entering without waiting for permission from either her or Ivan. Seeing her friend and assistant, Katrina slightly smiled, but it quickly vanished upon seeing Maira’s expression. Her eyes watered as she held back her tears.
“Maira, what’s wrong?”
“It’s—it’s your grandfather.”
Hearing Maira’s tone, a sudden fear gripped Katrina. “…what happened?”
“He’s—he’s had a stroke.”
Chapter 8
Kind-Hearted Men
Places like this always reminded William of his late wife. Maybe it was because his wife was once all alone in a place like this before they met. William tried to push the thought of his late wife to the back of his mind just like he had trained himself to do over the years. Now was not the time to think of his past. He needed to focus on what he was here for.
An elderly lady led William to the shelter’s open area where guests were allowed to visit loved ones. The blinds were pulled back, allowing sunlight to shine through the window. The room’s walls and ceiling were a dark pink color that appeared to be recently painted. The new eggshell carpet did not have a stain anywhere. In one corner was a basket full of children’s toys, many of which looked hardly used. A portrait of the seashore hung opposite of the window, and a television was latched onto an adjacent wall. The room was empty, with the exception of a young lady that sat on a long, black couch. She did not seem to notice that anyone had entered the room, but William immediately recognized her as Mary.
Turning to the older lady, William nodded at her with a smile and she quickly turned and went back into the hallway. William slowly made his way towards Mary, who still did not acknowledge his presence. As he came closer to her, he noticed the drying streams of tears that ran down her cheeks. She wore clothing that covered her body from wrists to ankles. William reasoned it was an attempt to hide any contusions. But she could not hide the marks that were visible on her face.
She buried her head into her hands, hoping he would not notice the obvious marks. Her long hair hid any that might be on her neck. However, even with her best efforts, she could not hide the obvious.
He silently took a seat next to her, but she still would not look at him.
“Mary?”
The young lady continued to sit silently.
“Nicole tells me that you’ve been here since this morning…and that you haven’t said a word to her.”
She still would not uncover her face.
“I know this must be hard for you. I know it’s not easy to talk about, but I’m not here as your boss. I’m here as your friend. You have to let me know what happened.”
Somberly, Mary finally spoke in barely a whisper, but still would not face William. “…how did you know I was here?”
“I didn’t. Ethan did.”
She slowly raised her head and let her hands fall down, allowing William to finally get a good look at her face. “Mr. Daniels?”
William nodded as he kept his eyes locked with hers. “Nicole called Ethan this morning when you arrived.”
“He’s a kind hearted man.”
“He is.”
“Seven months ago, he found me in a place like this. It—it was after my father came home drunk, again. He…he helped me start a new life. He gave me my job, a new apartment, a new everything.”
“What happened?”
Mary looked back down before replying with hesitation. “…my father.”
“Your father? What did he do?”
“He found me. He did what he always does. Ruins everything for me.”
“What happened?”
“He…” Tears began to swell in her eyes once again. “He and two other men came to my apartment last night. They were all drunk and he—he was angry. Said he’d teach me a lesson for trying to leave him, for thinking I was better than him.” She was silent for a long moment. “They—they destroyed everything.”
The more she spoke, the angrier William became.
“Everything I owned was destroyed. Everything. I—I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know who to call.”
“Did you go to the hospital?”
She shook her head no.
“The police?”
“What will the police do?”
“Things are different now, Mary. They’ll help.”
“Nobody will help me.”
“Why didn’t you go to Ethan?”
“Mr. Daniels has done so much for me already…I didn’t want him to know.”
“Well…he knows, Mary. And he cares, more than you know. More than you can possibly imagine. And…and he promises to fix this.”
***
William made a call as he walked out of the woman’s shelter. It rang several times before a voice on the other end picked up.
“Are you leaving the shelter?”
“Yeah.” William could hear the sound of Ethan’s Lamborghini in the background, cruising down the road. “Did you catch Victoria’s killers?”
“More or less.”
“And Nicholas?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
“I guess not.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Where are you going now?”
“To make a withdrawal at the bank.”
“What are you getting?” William asked.
“It’ll be on the five o’clock news.” Ethan quickly, and noticeably, changed the subject. “Was she at the shelter?”
William did not pursue his inquiry any further, knowing he would not get a straight answer. “Yeah.”
“How did it go?”
William took a deep breath. “You wanted me to meet with her and physically see her pain, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I want you to decide her father’s fate.”
“Why?”
“Because I’d butcher him.”
“And what makes you think I won’t?”
“You didn’t do it to your wife’s father when you had the chance.”
“She didn’t want me too.”
“And what are you going to do to Nate?”
“Nate?”
“Mary’s father.”
William thought for a long moment. “The same thing I did to my dear father-in-law.”
“And you think I’m too radical.”
“This is different. He deserves it. He deserves what’s coming.”
***
An unexpected storm was fully raging by the time Katrina reached the looming hospital. She did not bother to wait for Ivan to get out before darting out of the vehicle. The heavy downpour soaked her clothes as she frantically ran toward the hospital’s front entrance.
Katrina rushed into the lobby, leaving a trail of watery footprints behind her. Panting for breath, she looked up at the directory, ignoring any of the stares that were shot her way. Seeing which way her grandfather was, she immediately raced in that direction. Ivan tried his best to keep up, but consciously allowed Katrina her space.
How could this h
ave happened so suddenly? After her grandfather’s health had been steadily improving over the last few months, how did it change so drastically? Was this her fault? Could she have done something to prevent this? A thousand questions raced through her mind, but one question raised itself above the rest: Would she lose the only family she had left?
Katrina rushed through the sterile-looking halls and under the bright, fluorescent lights. Her eyes frantically looked into each room she passed. All she could think about was whether the man who had raised her would survive the night
Whether or not she would wake up an orphan once again.
Chapter 9
New Threats
The sun was half over the horizon as Adam slowly made his way to the front door of his house. Although his heart was full of joy and hope, his legs were sore, his arms felt heavy, and his mind felt tired. Adam felt this way after almost every march.
It was the largest march by far. An endless sea of people had advanced through the downtown streets. Rich and poor. Man and woman. Black, brown, and white. They had all come together and united for their single, righteous cause. And it would only grow bigger from here. Every day their crusade grew stronger and hit harder. It would not be long now. Their oppressors’ days were numbered. Soon, there would not be any more marches.
Soon, they would have victory. They were so close now.
Coming to the door, Adam pulled out his keys. Adam had heard so many stories today about The Guardian. Many people claimed to have seen him first-hand. Whether he was keeping a watchful eye over the people or attacking wrongdoers, this hero did nothing but protect the good people of Tripton. Corrupt officials, criminals, street thugs, wife beaters—no one was safe from his reach. With him leading their struggle, Adam knew that victory would undoubtedly be theirs.
It felt good to Adam to finally be back at home after such a long day. He came into the living room area. To no surprise, James was there.
James’s chair faced the room’s entrance, and there was a small stack of papers in his lap that he was grading. Hearing his brother walk in, he glanced up, but only for a quick second. “There’s dinner in the microwave.”
“Okay,” Adam replied. “Don’t suppose you want to hear—”
“Unless you’re going to tell me that you’ve finally decided to grow up and get started on your life, I don’t want to hear anything.”
“You should know that I got an offer today.”
His brother looked back up. His face showed his surprise. “What?”
“At Ethan Daniels’s law firm.”
“Ethan Daniels’s law firm?”
“They’re overwhelmed with cases over there and are hiring helpers to run around and do errands for them.”
“And they offered you a job?”
“I start next week. Just thought you should know.”
James was speechless for a few, long moments. “I can’t believe this…congratulations.”
Adam slightly nodded.
“I don’t suppose this means you’ll—”
“No, James, I won’t be leaving the cause. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not until we finally have justice. I won’t abandon our hero now when he needs us the most.” With those words, Adam turned leaving the room without another word.
***
The nighttime sky was dark and the stars were just starting to come out. But here, in this run down corridor, none of them could be seen. William was tired. His body wanted to lay down. His eyes wanted to sleep. His mind wanted to rest.
But that would have to wait.
Wearing a black ski mask, William walked down the dingy hallway. The lights above him flickered. The walls were cracked. What once seemed like beautiful tan-colored carpeting was now a spotted grayish-brown. Roaches could be seen running up and down the corridor, and a distinct odor consumed William’s nose. The closed doors that led to the apartments were run down and could easily be kicked open. Some were barely hanging on.
It was hard to imagine that a girl as sweet as Mary had grown up in this place.
William came to the end of the hallway and turned to face apartment 309. His sharp ears picked up the sounds coming from inside. A group of men were playing cards. Half-empty bottles and fists slammed against the table. Loud voices called out bets, followed by taunts and insults. One of the voices sounded like the man he was here for.
His grip around the crowbar tightened. His heartbeat raced; ears, neck, and face suddenly felt hot with adrenaline, fury.
Without wasting another second, he cocked his leg back and powerfully kicked the door down with one great strike. It ripped off of its hinges and a loud crack thundered down the hallway. He rushed into the room expecting to come face-to-face with the three men.
However, he was met with the last thing he expected.
Most of the lights were out. All of the tables were turned over with playing cards and chips scattered about the floor, along with shattered shards of glass. Chairs were splintered and spread all around the room. Any artwork that had been mounted on the walls or décor set on a countertop now lay broken on the floor.
Only a few feet away from where William stood was a tape recorder, playing the voices he heard just moments ago. His attention was suddenly drawn to the remains of a murder—the killing of those he had come to punish.
Three corpses lay sprawled out on the hard, dirty floor. A pool of blood surrounding each one. The stench of death suddenly rushed at William. The murders were recent. The wounds were fresh.
William did not take his eyes off of them. It was not the corpses that shocked him. After seeing plenty of them throughout his lifetime, the sight no longer bothered him. What made him freeze was something else entirely.
It was how they had been killed. It was not by a gun, since there was no gun wound. It was not by a knife, since there was no knife-inflicted wound. It was not by a hand, since there was no sign that any of the bodies had even been touched by the attacker.
They had been killed from the inside out.
Without laying a hand on them, whoever murdered them in cold blood crushed their insides. And it was clear that the killer did not make it a quick death.
Slowly, William peeled back his mask. Although he had never seen any of the dead men before, William knew one of them was the man he was here for: Mary’s father, Nate.
For a long time, William could do nothing but stare at the corpses. Maybe the lowlifes had this coming. After all, they were allthe dregs of society. But then again, not even the lowest person deserved to die like this.
William pulled out a small silver device and quickly placed it into his ear. Looking away from the carnage, he spoke into the device. “They’re all dead.”
There was brief static before a tired and weary reply came. “By your hand?”
“No. Somebody else killed them.”
“Who?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean?”
“I—I can’t explain it. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They were—they were killed…from the inside out.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
There was a brief pause on Ethan’s end.“Take pictures of the scene and meet me back at the warehouse.”
***
William looked on as Ethan examined the disturbing images that were taken on William’s cell phone. It had been nearly half an hour since he began examining the photographs and he had not said a word since.
“So what do you think, Ethan?” William asked, not sure his friend even heard him ask the question.
Ethan did not reply as he continued to intently stare at the images.
“How do you think those people were killed?”
“Like you said, it wasn’t by a gun, knife, or hand.”
“So what was it?”
“…I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure? That’s never a good sign.”
“Whoever the killer is, we know that he killed them
from the inside out. He killed them without laying a finger on them. It’s like he’s…” Ethan looked back at William. “He’s killing them in some supernatural way…with his mind.”
“Killing them with his mind?”
“It’s clear that the killer never touched them. Somehow, whoever this killer is, he’s able to move things…supernaturally. Look at the pictures again.” Ethan tossed the phone back to William.
William caught the device and looked back down at the image.
“The victims’ hearts, they were…it’s hard to explain, but they were…crushed…crushed even though their outer bodies were still intact…and it’s not just their hearts. Whoever this person is, he—he crushed their lungs too, yet no evidence the perpetrator laid a finger on them. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but that’s what I’m seeing here.”
“How can you tell?” William looked down at the picture and then back at Ethan.
“Call it perception.”
“Is that even possible? I mean, we’re talking about telekinesis.”
“An advanced form of it. And after everything that you and I have seen, we both should know that anything is possible.”
William did not respond.
“Have the police arrived at the scene yet?”
William nodded. “Right after I called you, I heard their sirens. Somebody must have called them in.”
“Then the crime scene is contaminated. It would be pointless to go back there now.”
“I did find something else.”
“What?”
“A strand of long, red hair. It didn’t belong to any of the victims. It was on top of one of Nate’s wounds, meaning that the person must have stood over him as he was dead or dying.”
“I’ll crosscheck it with my database and see if it belongs to anybody we might know of.”
“Alright. So what are we going to do about this? I mean, you’re already stretched thin patrolling the streets. You can’t divert any more of your attention—”
“You’re right. You’ll need to pursue this.” Ethan paused for a brief moment. “I know somebody who might have some information for us.”